Here is the trivia word for the day. The term "nickname" originated as an Anglo-Saxon word: ekename. In the Anglo-Saxon tongue, "eke" meant "also" or "added." The term seemed just a bit awkward to pronounce; so, it became slurred, converting ekename to nekename and finally to become nickname.
The idea of a nickname didn't come from English origins, though. They were originally common in ancient Greece and Rome, especially when used as terms of affection, which the Greeks called hupokorisma, meaning "calling by an endearing name."
It was not uncommon for English parents to give their children long names and abbreviate them for ordinary use, which they called "nurse names" - so Harold became Hal and Elizabeth became Betsy.
Of course, children and adults often get tagged with somewhat less endearing names. Lefty, Shorty, Pinky and many others were probably not earned in the nursery.
With regard to the origins of the word "nickname". So in English the term 'nick' derived from scandinavian 'eke' meaning "also". Maybe quite difficult to understand this origin & evolution today? Well, look at Dutch language term for 'also' : in Dutch the word "ook" (pronounced 'oak') means 'also' , finding its source in the same scandanavian term 'eke'. Not too far away ethymologically speaking... just several hundred years of mutating pronounciation.
Posted by: Pieter Cramwinckel | February 28, 2005 at 07:24 PM
where can I find a list of nicknames for early america?
Posted by: Julie | March 13, 2005 at 02:10 PM
why are people named william called bill
Posted by: barbara | June 18, 2005 at 02:02 PM
what is meaning of drippin after a name
Posted by: micky drippin | July 21, 2005 at 04:38 PM
why are people named robert called bob?
Posted by: robert | November 27, 2007 at 11:05 PM
Why are people with the surname WILSON referred to as TUG
Posted by: Ralph | January 22, 2009 at 08:42 AM